Beer-related travel, at home and abroad, exploring and indulging my passion for beer.

Thursday, 1 August 2013

Franconia 2013

We arrived back home last Monday evening, after a most
enjoyable week in the northern area of Bavaria
known as Franconia.We based ourselves in the small,
picturesque town of Forchheim; a
town of just 20,000 inhabitants, but with four breweries, which lies roughly
halfway between Nuremberg and Bamberg.
The prime, but not sole, reason for our stay here was to visit Annafest, an
event which began life as a religious festival, but which is now one of the
largest folk festivals in Franconia. I ought to add that
by “folk” I don’t mean lots of bearded men in chunky jumpers wailing out
sea-shanties or traditional rural ballads with a finger stuck in one ear, but rather folk as in
“something for the people”, something which everyone can join in with and have
a good time.

Naturally, as in much of Bavaria,
beer plays an important role in such events, and Annafest was definitely no
exception to this. I will be writing a much more detailed post about Annafest a
bit later, but for now I just want to say that we visited the event on three
separate days, which were interspersed with days out exploring some of the
surrounding Franconian towns and villages; towns such as Bamberg with its eight breweries
and villages full of rural charm and, as like as not, a brewery to match. In
the countryside we came across Bierkellers tucked away in the unlikeliest of
places, serving cool refreshing Kellerbier – beer which smacked of locally
grown hops and sold at unbelievably low prices (€1.90 per half litre). Whilst
in towns such as Bamberg, Coburg and of course Forchheim, there were unspoilt
basic boozers, tucked away down side streets mixed in with internationally
renowned establishments such as Schlenkerla and Spezial in Bamberg.

All in all it was like visiting a beer lover’s paradise;
somewhere which at times just seems too good to be true. I will be recalling
some of our discoveries over the next couple of weeks or so, depending on time
and other commitments (I’m acting as beer buyer for this year’s Spa ValleyRailway Beer Festival, and I’ve got quite a bit of ringing around and chasing
to catch up on). In the meantime attached are a few photo’s to wet your
appetites.

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About Me

Sixty years old (just) and married with one twenty-something son, who shows no sign of wanting to
leave home. My interests are many and varied, and whilst beer (and the
enjoyment of it) obviously features high on the list I also enjoy travelling
(particularly when it involves searching out new beers to try), cycling and
walks in the countryside. I dabble a bit in gardening, which at the moment
primarily involves re-landscaping my garden. My other main interests though are
music, especially 70's rock music, and history. I have been a member of CAMRA
since the mid 1970's and have edited a number of local branch magazines. I have
also had published two, now sadly out of date, guides to Kent
pubs. For six years my wife and I also ran our own successful real-ale
off-licence, which as well as selling cask ale to take away by the pint,
offered one of the best selections of bottled beers in the south east. Prior to
taking on the shop, I was an accomplished home-brewer producing a wide range of
full-mash beers; something I intend to get back into in the not too distant
future.